Pretty Please with a Cherry on Top [Liza/Zel]

[Zen]

Lizalia

Thread had fallen over the Southern Continent, making it suddenly very important that they ensure plenty of smiths were able to build and maintain flamethrowers. During the Interval there had always been a few, of course, as it was important to maintain their knowledge of the machines, but few cared to specialize in it when there wasn’t a whole lot of use for them. Lizalia herself hadn’t really given them much thought before the order had come down from her father for classes about the machines to become a priority. Unfortunately, the Journeymen got priority to make sure they were well acquainted with them so they could then help oversee the apprentices later and that meant waiting. Liza did not want to wait and being barred from working on them only made her want to take one apart even more. Now that they’d been brought to her attention she wanted to know how they worked as they were a rather fascinating piece of machinery. Being told no was more of a challenge than anything and she was determined to disassemble one no matter what anyone said.

Sneaking one to a more private location was not exactly an easy task, however. Getting her hands on one was easy enough, it wasn’t like they were under lock and key or anything, but they were not small objects and she could hardly hide the fact that she was carrying one. So she just needed a good excuse to have one if anyone asked and carry it confidently and out in the open rather than try and fail to hide it. About half way to her destination a journeyman stopped her to ask what she was doing with it. “Master Korlon wanted to practice disassembling and reassembling one so he asked me to fetch one for him.” A master’s name tended to shut people up, and it did this time too, as the Journeyman ushered her to hurry on with it then and not keep the master waiting. It was believable enough that Master Korlon wasn’t well versed in flamethrowers, he specialized in more mundane things.

Hurry on she did, though not too quickly, because that would look like she was trying to run away with one. She just had to maintain that confidence and no one would question her. Slipping into a seldom used classroom she liked to utilize when she didn’t particularly want to be found and hiding out in her father’s workshop wasn’t an option, she shut the door behind her, set the flamethrower on a table, and hurried to a cabinet to fetch the tools she would need to begin the disassembly, reaching out mentally for Squeak as she collected what she needed. The green popped out of between with her signature squeak of warning and circled over her head, “I need you to keep watch.” She impressed her desire to the green firmly and with another squeak she popped away again.

But as she was laying her tools out and just about to begin her flamethrower dissection the green popped back into the room and trilled in that particular way she had. She set the tool back down a little harder than she’d meant to in frustration as she knew very well that her brother was about to walk through the door, “Shards and shells. How does he always know? Ugh… I was so close too….” If she’d just been a little bit faster, if she’d already started taking it apart, there’d be no reason not to just keep going right? Maybe if she hurried she could still get a start on it. But she didn’t want to hurry, she wanted to take her time exploring and discovering. Fardles. It was fine... she just had to convince him to join her, that was all. It would be more fun that way anyway.

kevna

[kevna]

Zelhirin 

Zelhirin moved through the halls, on his way to get klah, stretching his legs from the cramping they had undertaken. He loved the height he was slowly gaining; he was considered tall for his age, and often mistaken for a couple turns older since he stood at five feet eight inches. He was sure he’d be as tall as R’hir someday. He felt a certain pride thinking again of the last time R’hir had come to visit them, of the man’s grim satisfaction in being correct about threadfall, confirming Zelhirin’s own belief that his uncle would be proved right.

The news of how hard southern had been hit had increased his own work in the flamethrower department, mostly just the grunt work now that there was an increasing number of journeymen and masters turning their own skills to the devices. He felt a certain smug satisfaction that he knew more about the devices then some of the journeymen and wasn’t shy about pointing that out when they were about to make a mistake. He could only take them apart and put them back together again and he had learned to fix some of the more minor pieces. It annoyed him that he wouldn’t be getting to learn how to make them from scratch for a while. With his experience they should be utilizing him more, giving him more opportunities since he had been a believer longer and been working on them longer.

He had expressed that frustration with his mother, and she had pointed out that this would be a good learning opportunity when it came to patience. She had also smacked him upside the head when he didn’t hide his eyeroll well enough. Still, his hands clenched thinking about the flamethrowers, and his newly felt restraints when it came to the flamethrowers. Even as his mind took this bend of thought did it start happening.

His twin sense was tingling. He remembered the odd light in her eyes earlier that morning. Surely Liza wasn’t so flitter-brained as to try something dangerous or foolish… Of course, as soon as he had thought that he had sworn and redirected his path in a hunt for his twin. The fact that she wasn’t in the first two places he had checked only further supported the foreboding feeling. She could be up to anything, but he had found that often their brain wavelength was similar and what if she had been thinking about the flamethrowers too?

Of course she would try something dangerous on her own. There was more of an urgency to him as he moved along the Smithcraft Hall, using his growing legs to move him faster, while maintaining a respectable pace. He moved toward the neglected classroom he knew she liked to work in, his hands fisting again, containing the concern and frustration in them. What could she be up to that had him so irritated? He rounded the corner and spotted a flurry of green movement and heard a pretty trill he knew all to well. “Shells, Liza.” If she needed a lookout… He lengthened his stride again, unconcerned about respectability now.

He burst through the door and froze there taking it all in, his jaw clenching tight at the sight of the flamethrower. His eyes narrowed at her. “You sun-crazed gather-fool. Are you trying to get yourself killed?” He growled, launching himself toward her and his hands reaching out for her upper arms to give her a firm shake. “What in shells has possessed you? Do you want to get blown up?”

He felt furious. Of course, he should have known that if he was thinking about the flamethrowers, and the new restrictions placed on the apprentices, then she would be breaking them. She had never shown much interest in the devices before! They were the shiny, banned toy. A dangerous, highly destructive toy. “It. Is. Not. A. Toy.” He ground out between clenched teeth.

[Zen]

Lizalia

Leaning over the flamethrower, Liza was desperately twisting out the first screw when the door burst open but she didn’t stop even as she heard her brother’s voice, clearly irate, and managed to pluck the screw out of its place before he launched himself at her. She clasped her hand firmly around the screw as he shook her so she wouldn’t drop it, “Shells, you’re gonna shake my brains right outta my head.” He was angry, asking her if she wanted to get blown up, and she blew out an exasperated breath, “Please, Zee… your worry is making you incredibly irrational. It’s not like I took one with fuel in the tank.” She reached over to tap the empty tank, making a hollow metal sound as proof. Though to be honest she wasn’t sure if the things still had the capability to blow up with no fuel or not. It made sense that they wouldn’t, right?

She placed the screw carefully on the table, her attention still far more focused on the flamethrower than her brother. She was just itching to get it apart. She didn’t want to wait for boring lectures about the inner workings of the thing, she wanted to see it for herself, she wanted the excitement of the discovery. She learned so much faster through trial and error on her own and it was so much more fun besides. Even as she was thinking about the fun that sat waiting for her on the table, her brother insisted it was not a toy, and she huffed stubbornly, “C’monnnn Zee… you’re here now, and you know what you’re doing, so it should be fine right? If I just… take a peek?”

Squeak came to land on her shoulder with another of her trills that she reserved for Zelhirin and Liza reached into her pocket to pull out a bit of dried meat to give to the green as she realized the door was still open from where her brother had burst in. Shells. She slid around him to close it again, standing there with her back against the door for a moment as if afraid someone else was about to come bursting in too. Perhaps she should have blocked the door earlier… though then she supposed he just would have made a ruckus about it. He was in an oddly emotional state, it seemed, since he felt as if she was in danger. Anger was his typical response to his fear for her safety and he could be at his most stubborn in his need to protect her. So if she could assuage his fears, perhaps she could have what she wanted after all.

kevna

[kevna]

Zelhirin 

It only brought a small relief that she had not gotten very far, only the first screw as he could tell, though she seemed bent to continue until he reached her. “Am I? I was beginning to think you didn’t have any in that skull of yours.” He growled, giving her one last hard shake before letting her go. One too less it would seem as she blatantly dismissed his rational concern for irrationality. He was far too resonable to ever be irrational, no matter his feelings. His eyebrows descended further. “Irrational?” His voice was low as he watched her tap the tank so boldly, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “And did you think to check the hose and trigger for leftover fuel? One small drop of fuel can be catastrophic if you do not take this apart the correct way, especially if it has not been rinsed thoroughly. You think yourself so clever it drives you to senselessness.”

In many ways he respected his twin. She was, in the workplace especially, his equal, and worthy of that respect. For all her intelligence, it did not assuage her recklessness in any way, which was just inconceivable to him. His remark about it not being a toy wasn’t taken any more seriously than his previous comment, and he snatched the screw from the table as she… whined. If he wasn’t so angry, he would roll his eyes. “And if I hadn’t come? What was your brilliant plan? You can’t just haphazardly pull it apart, Liza!”

Which is probably exactly what she had planned to do. He was this close to grabbing her and shaking her again. He gripped the screw till the jagged edges bit into his palm, helping him think through the fury.

He considered her whining plea, little moved, as Squeak landed on Liza’s shoulder and trilled at him, and with his free hand he absentmindedly fished out a dried meat and offered it to the green as his sister did as well. He watched his twin’s movements, turning to track her, his mind warring between logic and anger. If he took the flamethrower and walked out, there was no guarantee that Liza wouldn’t just try again, foolhardy as she was. If he was here… Then at least he could oversee her, and correct any fatal mistakes…

There was also the fact that she would be a most difficult pupil in her own right to consider… Yet when they worked together there was always a satisfaction he could achieve with her. He turned and grabbed a tool, quickly re-screwing the one she had taken out, and carefully unscrewing the nozzle where the igniter was within, and checking the hose, carefully sniffing. (This one had either been cleaned, or his sister had had enough wits and the basic knowledge to rinse it herself).

“I should just make you wait.” Part of him wanted to punish her for her brashness. He turned to look at her again, folding his arms to show his dissatisfaction, though there was a hint of possibility in his voice as his logical side shouted at him. If he really wanted to keep her safe… His jaw clenched and he groaned internally knowing exactly what he wanted to do, and what he should do.

[Zen]

Lizalia

She was mildly offended by his lack of faith in her intelligence as everything he said seemed to call it into question. If anyone else had said such things to her she would have likely started devising a prank to prove just how wrong they were and how capable she was. “Honestly, Zee… do you really think so little of me? I’m hurt.” She wasn’t really, mostly just annoyed, which was evidenced by her sarcasm. “They have a whole classroom set up, you know? I took a flamethrower that’s probably been used by countless other people to take apart and put back together. I’m sure it’s plenty clean.” She waved her hand, dismissive of his concerns. She may not always think things all the way through but even she hadn’t been deaf to the constant warnings about the possible dangers of flamethrowers if they weren’t handled right. She hadn’t gone in thoughtlessly and just grabbed the first device she saw.

“Of course I wasn’t going to pull it apart haphazardly... I was going to be plenty methodical,” she insisted, as if that would make it better in her brother’s mind. She had learned that lesson well through the turns. The first time taking something apart was better done with some patience and organization or putting it back together could be a real pain, and asking for help was not an option. She didn’t mind accepting assistance if it was offered, if someone else seemed interested in trying to figure something out alongside her, but she didn’t appreciate people doubting her abilities, thinking she wasn’t capable. She didn’t need anyone’s help. She could do it on her own just fine. It might take her a few tries but she didn’t mind that at all, failure was just another opportunity to discover more about a thing. She didn’t have to get everything right the very first time she did it, so long as there was something she had learned, something she could take from the failure, then it wasn’t really a failure in her mind. The only real failure would be to give up.

Squeak happily took the meat from her bonded before half hopping, half gliding to Zelhirin’s shoulder as he too offered her a treat. The tension between the siblings meant little to the patchy green when there was food to be had. Standing with her back against the door, Liza watched Zelhirin twist the screw she had removed back into place, curious as he inspected it. His stance when he turned to look at her might have been disheartening, but his words and his tone held promise. If he was resolved to keep her from her plans for disassembly he wouldn’t be standing there debating. There was still hope.

Liza put on her best pleading face as she moved back toward her brother and the flamethrower, “Pleeeeease, Zee? You know more about them than most of the journeymen that would be overseeing me anyway. Wouldn’t it be safer if I did it with you?” Even if he didn’t give in, she wasn’t about to just let it go. She’d try again some other time. But if she wanted to win Zelhirin over, making threats was just as liable to make him stubborn. Appealing to his need to protect her was a much better strategy. On Zelhirin’s shoulder, Squeak trilled again, as if in agreement, though really she was just hoping for another treat.

kevna

[kevna]

Zelhirin 

He rolled his eyes at her sarcastic comment about being hurt. It would take more than that to ‘hurt’ his practically unflappable sister. Her comment about the classroom did help a little, but he couldn’t help pointing out, though a tad bit calmer, “And if the class was for learning to empty the fuel? It’s one of the first things they teach when it comes to handling the contraption.” There was a minor chance of that, seeing as the journeymen had probably already learned that, and were on to the dismantling and fixing. But with Lizalia being completely immersed in her work, there was a possibility she didn't know that.

The emphasis on the word he had used, and the lack of sarcasm hinted at the possibility of actually of hurting her feelings. He probably should back off, apologize, but it just wasn’t in his nature. He had a hard time admitting weakness, and he could be callous-especially when he was feeling vulnerable. Lizalia’s recklessness usually brought out the worst, and best in him. Fear was, admittedly, the worst. He tended to be far more insensitive when Lizalia did something dangerous. Instead of apologizing, he clenched his jaw, and shook his head. “Methodical isn’t always enough. You don’t have to insist on doing everything on your own to prove you are better then 75% of the Smithcraft Hall.” He said in an effort to be more calm, his voice still coming off biting. The distraction of the green was a welcome one, offering a moment to think and further seek to calm down.

The weight of Squeak on his shoulder felt like nothing and was familiar at the same time. Squeak took the food from him, and while the little green ate it, he offered a little scratch for the green before returning the screw. Now facing his twin sister, he was in the best position to see her pleading.

Zelhirin tried to remain stoic, but looking at her shining large eyes, hearing her pleading-it was a hard thing to say no to that face. Next to impossible really. His body relaxed, feeling himself surrender. But not just because of the pleading, or the flattery. Strategically, if he was going to keep his reckless twin alive, it would be better just to go along with her ‘request’ and oversee her dismantling of the flamethrower.

“Aye.” He assented, sighing. “It would be safer with me, then one of those sharding journeymen just trying to catch up.” It annoyed him, the fact that he had been pushed aside for them, when most of them hadn’t even been believers! He did know more-he could be teaching the upkeep for the flamethrowers-but of course he was only an apprentice. The hierarchy sometimes didn’t make sense.

“Walk me through your methodical plan.” There was some slight sarcasm when he repeated her word, though it wasn’t biting, or angry. She probably did have a plan-even if she wasn't thinking on the safer side of working with a flamethrower, she was usually smart about her work. She probably did have an organized plan of some sort, even if she had no knowledge of the flamethrowers themselves, she did know her mechanics well enough. He leaned against the table, so the flamethrower was to his side and slightly behind. He would listen and correct only if necessary. He folded his arms to better ensure he wouldn’t interfere, as he knew it would be a temptation for him.

[Zen]

Lizalia

Making an annoyed noise in the back of her throat, Liza’s hands fluttered dismissively, “For Faranth’s sake, Zee. You just checked it didn’t you? It’s fine.” She hadn’t actually thought about the fact that the class could have been for cleaning the tanks out, but his obsessive need to shove her nose in all the ways her plan could have gone wrong was getting obnoxious. Something could have gone wrong, fine, but it hadn’t, so why did he feel the need to keep pushing a non issue? It was like getting scolded when she hadn’t even done anything wrong. Which wasn’t exactly the case, but it’s what it felt like.

She made another displeased noise at his further scolding, “You don’t get it, Zee. I don’t learn how they want to teach me! Their classes are so boring. I’m not trying to prove anything. I know how good I am, I don’t care what everyone else thinks.” One hand waved once more in dismissal. Though it had come out sounding arrogant, that wasn’t really how she meant it. She didn’t need to prove anything to anyone. She just wanted to learn how she learned best, on her own, through trial and error, by completely tearing things apart and seeing if she could put them back together and make them work again. Why was that so wrong?

Okay so maybe she should have someone who knew what they were doing around just to supervise and make sure she didn’t make any catastrophic mistakes when she was taking apart something like a flamethrower, but she doubted she’d learn much of anything if she had to wait to be able to go to classes with the other apprentices and take things apart step by boring step as instructed. It wouldn’t sink in. She would go through the motions and wouldn’t remember half of it later. She would try to do it her own way and get scolded, which would make her stubborn, which would further prevent any learning from happening. Her father often sympathized with her over such things, but encouraged her to keep an open mind with her instructors because they did have useful knowledge to impart. That was far easier said than done.

But now that her brother was here, he could fulfill that supervisor role and stop worrying about her if only he would agree. She didn’t let up with her round eyed pleading face until he finally sighed, relenting, and then she broke into a grin and laughed and hopped up to throw her arms around his neck in a grateful hug. She wasn’t a terribly affectionate person but for her father and her brother, where sometimes it just came out of her, like now. Squeak took to the air to avoid getting hit or jostled just in time, with a very indignant squeak that Liza seemed to have forgotten she was perching there. She released Zelhirin soon enough, eager to start her dismantling, and pulled another piece of dried meat from her pocket, “Oh, come here you, you’re just fine.” Squeak landed on her shoulder long enough to take the meat before Liza impressed on her the need to keep watch again and the green took flight and popped back out to the hall.

“Okay so, well, I brought some hides in because I thought I would sketch my own schematics as I went, so I could make my own notes and stuff, because I feel like the design isn’t really getting utilized fully?” Her fingers brushed over the small stack of hides she’d brought with her, sitting on the edge of the table as the possibilities occurred to her once more, “I mean, during a Pass I suppose we need them for their original purpose but what about during an Interval? They just… sit around. Surely there are other uses for them? I think there’s plenty of ways they could be adapted.” She wasn’t really sure why they hadn’t been already. There had to have been others who had similar ideas in all the turns they’d existed. Had the masters in charge just been that resistant to it? She found it hard to believe. The Smithcraft Hall was always looking for innovation, particularly during Intervals where the lack of Thread left more time and resources for imagination.

But once again, she waved her hand, waving those thoughts away because that wasn’t her purpose here today. That would be for later, after she’d had a good look at how they worked, after she understood it properly so she could see how it could be applied to other ends. She wasn’t normally so thorough as to draw her own diagrams of a thing as she took it apart, but she knew the flamethrowers were rather important and she wanted to give herself a better chance at putting it back together right, particularly as she wasn’t supposed to be taking it apart to begin with and she hadn’t originally planned on having anyone around to tell her if she’d done it right or not. If she had put it back together wrong… she was quite aware it could have disastrous consequences for anyone who might try to use it next. It was the only thing she really considered a flaw in her plan and she might well have had to admit to someone what she had done and take the consequences in order to avoid someone getting hurt.

“But anyway, I was going to be careful to make note of everything I removed and where it went. There’s plenty of tables for me to spread out and keep things organized as I go,” she looked up at her brother, assuring him, “I promise I thought this one through more than I usually do… I know things could go really wrong….” Liza’s fingers brushed over the metal of the flamethrower again as she fell quiet and contemplative for a moment, and when she next spoke it was soft because she didn’t like admitting that maybe she did need a little help this time, “But I’m glad you’re here… I… should have asked you to… help.”

It was easier when it was Zee, but not by much. She couldn’t imagine asking anyone else for help. Maybe her father, in that discreet sort of way they both had when it came to asking for help. What do you think of this? I feel like there might be a better way of doing it but I can’t quite get my head around it. It was a request for collaboration, an open invitation to offer the other’s thoughts and ideas without outright saying I need help. Asking for help made her feel so inadequate… but Zee was her other half, so it didn’t feel quite as unnatural. She had never been at all concerned about herself as she was taking the flamethrower apart, but she was concerned for others once she had put it back together. Zelhirin could help make sure she didn’t do anything terribly wrong. She didn’t mind making mistakes, but she was aware a mistake this time might cost someone their life. While she wasn’t the most responsible person, she certainly didn’t want to be responsible for someone’s death or injury on account of her own curiosity.

“Hm,” she made a soft noise, almost of protest, before she continued, “So… where… would you start?” she gestured to the flamethrower and looked over at him, giving him leave to offer initial direction. So long as he didn’t try to tell her how to do everything, she didn’t mind a few… pointers as she went. Not from Zee, anyway.

kevna